"Yang Jeongin, are you even listening to me?"

He wasn't, that was for sure, but Jeongin chose to nod at his best friend. He'd like to think he earned the right to be nervous about things, given how he was finally a college student, as multiple thoughts invaded his mind as they walked. They were on the way to his school dorm on a bright Saturday morning, since he still had to officially move in before the semester started. Coming from the same neighbourhood and being in the same university himself, Seungmin had offered to help bring his stuff.

“I’m listening,” he added as an afterthought.

Despite his answer, Seungmin saw through him immediately as the older boy rolled his eyes, but decided to repeat his earlier statement regardless.

“As I was saying,” the brunette began again. “College is way different from high school. The subjects are harder, some professors don’t care, you’d think free time is great until you realize you’re suddenly running out of time, and you’re going to meet a lot of people. Like, a lot of new people, so you’re gonna have to be careful with who you befriend, too. I won’t always be around since we don’t even have the same classes.”

“I’ll manage,” Jeongin replied. “I’m sociable enough.”

“You’re adorable,” Seungmin stressed, earning him an annoyed scowl which he pointedly ignored because that was also cute in itself. It’s not like the younger boy ever really got mad, anyway, so he was safe. “People will definitely flock towards you and I just want you to be careful.”

The shorter boy nodded, “I’ll be fine.”

“Also, you should probably keep that a secret.”

He didn’t have to ask what that was, since there was really only one thing the other boy could be talking about, anyway.

For as long as he could remember, Jeongin could see the red string of fate; a thin, string of red that curled around a person's left pinky finger. The same red string that connected two destined people together, usually just a thing of myths and fairytales, but for him it had always been something very real. They only appeared whenever the two fated people were fairly near each other, so it’s not like he saw red wherever he went. It also explained why he couldn’t see his own red string just yet, since his soulmate probably just wasn’t around.

He thought it was normal at first, always careful not to step on the string that connected his parents together, incase they felt it and it bothered them. He would side step or jump over it constantly as a child. It wasn't until he was questioned about his actions did he find out that not everybody can see it; and no, they didn't feel anything when Jeongin first attempted to actually touch it. He didn't either, merely seeing his hand pass through the string instead, but he saw it nonetheless.

Growing up, Jeongin had also learned it was best to ignore the strings.

That was a lesson he had to learn the hard way, mainly since it consisted of how much he couldn’t keep his mouth shut as a child. His parents humoured him when it came to their own string, but needless to say not everybody liked having a child point out where there were red strings and even more so, where there weren’t any red strings present. It was a curious thing, and he was a curious boy, but some things just weren’t meant to be shared.

“It’s not like people would believe me, anyway,” Jeongin found himself saying, just as the two arrived in front of the boys dormitory. He handed the guard his ID as Seungmin did the same,  waited a bit before the guard could give Jeongin his keys, before the two headed to Room 137. On the way there, the younger boy picked up from where he left off. “I’m not going to announce I can see red strings, people will think I’m crazy.”

“I believed you though.”

“Only because your grandmother could see them, too,” Jeongin pointed out.

The first thing Jeongin noticed upon reaching Room 137 was the distinct, sudden pull on his left hand. For a split second, he panicked, before realizing that it was just because Seungmin actually was pulling at his hand. With a breath of relief—and a personal reminder not to be so jumpy, although he blamed how their last topic were the red strings for that—Jeongin pulled his hand away before asking why the older boy was suddenly so excited.

Seungmin pointed at the name card above Jeongin’s own.

“I know this guy! Han Jisung, he’s—“

“What about me?” came a voice from behind the two, making Seungmin jump and Jeongin turn towards the sound. Standing there was a boy wi